PORTIONS BY BENJAMIN OLIVO, MY SA EXPRESS

The scarcity of existing homes continues to be the big real estate story for San Antonio and Texas’ other major cities. The extreme low inventory is driving up the demand. And in certain neighborhoods, the proximity of the city’s hottest restaurants and bars is compounding the issue to an even greater extent. Good luck getting into these culinary hoods.

Alteza recommends making your move to downtown, living 30 floors above the Grand Hyatt. It’s a central location, walkable to ALL your favorites.

Southtown

The area just south of downtown — the King William Historic District, the Lavaca neighborhood and South Flores corridor — boasts about 30 restaurants all within a short walk if you happen to live in one of these neighborhoods. Foodies seem to have caught on.

In Southtown, for the six-month period ended in April, the median home price rose from $245,000 in 2014 to $377,000 this year.

In this neighborhood just south of downtown, you’ll find Alamo Street Eat Bar, 609 S. Alamo St. Anchored by Cullum’s Attaboy burgers, the food truck court offers diverse fare from a handful of mobile kitchens on a rotating basis.

The go-to vegetarian spot is Señor Veggie, 620 S. Presa St. For breakfast, the Guenther House, 2015 E. Guenther St., remains one of the best kitchens in the city.

The Pearl/Midtown

For a couple of years now, The Pearl has established itself as a top food destination. The former brewery along the San Antonio River contains some apartments and office space, but as per the original vision, it has been converted into a culinary destination — through the recycling of historic buildings, or building anew — even housing the San Antonio campus of the Culinary Institute of America.

Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery, 136 E. Grayson St., Suite 120, is the new kid on The Pearl block. The menu is Gulf coast inspired with an array of beers brewed on site.

In the fall, Bakery Lorraine, 306 Pearl Parkway, Suite 110, moved from a house just east of The Pearl into The Pearl itself, still boasting what have become its famous macarons.

The Granary ’Cue & Brew, 602 Avenue A, is an upscale, inventive barbecue joint — smoked brisket, yes, but how about root-beer-glazed scallops? — that brews its own beer.

Around The Pearl, the median home prices rose from $194,900 in 2014 to $205,500 this year for the six months ended in April.

Olmos Park

The little enclave with the slow-as-molasses speed limit has come into its own as a culinary neighborhood. So have the home prices where, in Olmos Park, the median price for existing homes rose from $576,500 in 2014 to $685,000 this year for the six-month period ended in April.

Folc and its neighboring bar Park Social, 226 E. Olmos Drive, opened in the fall and serve up retro American fare. Along those same menu lines is Tribeca di Olmos, 4331 McCullough Ave.

Finally, the tiny Mixtli, 5251 McCullough Ave., is San Antonio’s first restaurant for truly modern cuisine. It serves avant garde Mexican, focusing the menu on a specific Mexican region or state every few weeks.

Stone Oak

North of the city, the acclaimed new restaurants continue to open. And the home prices continue to appreciate. In the six months ended in April 2014, the median home price was $247,000 in the Stone Oak area. For the same period this year, the media home price was $263,250.

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